El cambio en los sistemas mediáticos: hipótesis y opciones para el análisis en contextos de reforma económica y política.

In this article, analytical resources on media change that are relevant to understand the relationship between politics and journalism are systematized, taking as a reference the Cuban context during the economic and political reform of the Raúl Castro presidency. Based on the scientific literature review, the hypotheses of convergence, democratization, hybridization, institutional continuity of people, practices and norms—with centrality in the arguments about the path dependence and the elites’ continuity—, and of the hegemony-counter-hegemony, are addressed. Path dependency is the most pertinent proposal to explain the history of media changes in the referred context. Likewise, in its application, it is proposed to observe in a differentiated way the negotiating agency, the discourses and the practices of the historically situated actors. Such a strategy is suggested as applicable to other countries of the communist world in the 21st century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]